Hot Pickle - J.J. Knight Page 0,62

heading to Dad’s gate to snag him. You want to go for dinner?”

“I have to work out. I can’t eat carbs until Friday.”

“No prob. We’ll pick a steak place that’s open late. If you have any ideas, text us, otherwise Dad will do his thing and call around.”

I can see I’m outvoted. There goes an evening with Camryn. Would she want to come?

Before I think it through, I say, “I might bring somebody.”

I instantly regret it. Anthony grabs the phone back. “Max’s got a girlfriend!” he sings-songs.

Jason grabs the phone back. “Real ho or bro ho?”

God, we’re all teenagers again. “Real. And I need to ask her if she even wants to come. You might be too much. In fact, I know you are.”

“What? Us?” Jason makes another crazy face. “Besides, we brought reinforcements. Nova’s here.” He angles the phone and Nova gives a wave. She’s walking several steps behind the brothers, no doubt to distance herself from their antics.

“Hey, Nova!” I call.

“I’m trying to keep them in line.” She shakes her head. “And failing.”

“It’s been tried before, my love,” Jason says. He slows down so they can both be in the frame, like a cheesy selfie. “Nobody tames the BEASTS!”

Nova rolls her eyes. “Help!” she says.

“He’s no help,” Jason says. “He’s the worst of us all.”

The phone blurs again. “Oh, I see Dad. Catch you later.” He waves and the call ends.

Holy shit. The entire Pickle clan is descending on California to watch me on stage.

And Buster is paying for gym members to come as well.

If I wanted to keep quiet about my hobby, that ship has sailed.

I shove the phone in my pocket and head out to the kitchen.

Andre has all the staff surrounding him. “And there he is, our champion bodybuilder.”

A great cheer erupts, and I play the part, clasping my hands over my head in the champion pose.

“We need a display case,” Angelo says. “Right by the register. We could show off your medals or trophies or whatever it is you get.”

“I’m not sure that’s necessary,” I say.

“Of course it is,” Tiana argues. “We’ve got ourselves a winner. We want everyone to know it. Besides, we can point to your killer picture, and nobody is going to argue over expired coupons.”

I laugh. “We’ll see. I have to head out. The other Pickles have descended for the competition. Make sure everything looks good. You know how Dad is. He’s going to show up unannounced to inspect. We need everything well-stocked and as fresh as we’ve got.”

“We’ll take care of it,” Andre says. “Go have fun.”

I jingle my keys in my pocket as I head out to my car. I’m grateful for my team. Because my life just got a thousand times more complicated.

28

Camryn

Life turns down a notch for the next couple of days. Max’s family comes to town, and although he asks if I want to meet them, I decide that’s not the greatest idea. If his brothers, who from all accounts appear to be quite the rambunctious pranksters, figure out I’m the girl he mentioned, they could easily expose it to my brother at the meet. And we’re not ready for that explosion yet.

Stupid Franklin. Stupid mess.

I do my work, tanning and prepping clients for the big weekend. We decide Max can wait until the night before the competition for his last tan.

I miss him, and our evenings together play over and over in my mind. But I am glad to catch up on my sleep.

Today I’m meeting Amy, Max and Franklin’s posing coach. She asked to get together for a late lunch so we can discuss a business opportunity for us both.

I warn her I’m completely booked with a full waiting list, but she says I’ll want to hear what she has to say. She’s picking up the tab, so I’m fine with a quick lunch. Besides, it’s fun to talk about Max with someone who knows him. Other than Dahlia, of course, who still mentions licking that man candy whenever she comes over for a touch up. It’s hard as hell to keep the secret.

When I arrive at the bistro, Amy sits at a table along the back wall. Her blond ponytail swings as she waves at me. We don’t know each other terribly well, so there’s no hugs or familiarity as I sit down.

“So glad you came,” she says.

We order pasta and I ask her, “So what’s going on?”

“Franklin told me you’re interested in traveling. I know you have a lot of great